1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to pet watering devices and, more particularly, to an improved portable pet watering device that permits animals being transported to be watered on demand which device substantially prevents spillage of water in the device during abrupt movement thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
All animals, including domestic pets, require water for survival. Typically, the owner of a pet need only maintain a water bowl to provide for pet sustenance. However, transportation of a pet creates peculiar circumstances that do not lend themselves to the conventional water bowl. In addition, transportation places most pets under stress causing an increase in water consumption.
The problem which this invention primarily addresses is the watering of the pet during transportation. The requirements of such watering include the need to prevent water from spilling during movement of the vehicle, the need for maintaining a low center of gravity to prevent the bowl from turning over, and the need for replenishing water during extended trips.
Transporting the animal in a moving vehicle leads to problems based upon the type of vehicle and type of pet to be transported. For example, communities have come to rely upon dogs as the daily partner of police officers. The police dog spends most of its day riding in the back seat of a vehicle while awaiting the call of duty. The dog is provided water by the use of a bowl placed on the floor of the vehicle. However, one vehicle turn may result in the water splashing over the side of the bowl and onto the floor. Failure to refill the bowl is detrimental to the dog's health. Continued refilling of the bowl, if the attendant officer remembers, may result in a soaked floor and unnecessary distractions. Between use, spilling, and/or evaporation, the dog is likely to have little to no access to water. These problems are not limited to automobiles but are inherent in both transportation by commercial and private aviation, boating, campers, and so forth.
To overcome the aforementioned problems, a number of patents have issued in an effort to address the problem. U.S. Pat. No. 3,076,435 issued to Seymour discloses a water bowl that provides constant level maintenance by use of an airtight chamber which provides a low level reservoir and a refill triggering means. However, this device presents a top heavy reservoir unsuitable for moving vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 3,152,576 issued to Faurot discloses a water bowl having a dished bottom and a conical shaped opening. The conical shape prevents spillage by maintaining sidewall splashing within a void in the bowl. However, Faurot does not teach or suggest a secondary reservoir within the animal watering device, and it requires the animal access aperture to be defined by a frustro-conical truncated cone having sidewalls at an acute angle between 25.degree. and 30.degree.. U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,063 issued to Buffum discloses a device that includes a self-righting, weighted bowl including a means for maintaining horizontal positioning thereof using gravity. U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,546 issued to Moore discloses a dog watering dish utilizing a disc-like member which floats upon the water. The disc member defines a central aperture to provide the animal with a limited access hole for the water. This device has no anti-spill feature and is generally top heavy. U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,056 issued to MacLeod discloses a splash resistant pet bowl having sloping sides used in combination with a snap-in lid. The lid has a central aperture sized to allow the pet access to the water. McLeod lacks a secondary reservoir within the device itself. U.S. Pat. No. 2,191,811, issued to Trampier, Sr., discloses a food and water dish for animals comprising a compartmentalized dish surrounded by an annular overflow trough, which trough is communicated with the water compartment of the bowl. Trampier does not provide anti-splash or anti-spill features, and lacks a secondary reservoir. U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,595, issued to Williams, discloses a feed tray, bowl, or dining mat for animals comprised of a bowl having a pin adapted to mate with a corresponding aperture in an insecticidal mat. U.S. Pat. No. 2,592,638, issued to Andrew, discloses a feeder for livestock or poultry comprising a convex inner dish-shaped element surrounded by a trough, but lacking a secondary reservoir. U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,228 to Keen discloses a pet watering apparatus with a refilling feature, but which lacks a secondary reservoir within the device itself. U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,371 to Strickland discloses an animal watering means with a refilling feature, but which also lacks a secondary reservoir within the device itself. Further, Strickland does not relate to an anti-splash apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 2,338,072, issued to Quinn, discloses a poultry waterer having an automatic refill means, but which lacks any anti-spill or anti-splash characteristics. Australian Patent No. 234,529, issued to King, discloses a stepped watering device with a hinged cover and a plurality of animal access apertures and lacks any anti-spill features such that if it were tipped even slightly, water would spill therefrom. U.S. Pat. No. 1,259,253, issued to McCullough, discloses a sanitary stock drinking cup which is not portable and lacks means for replenishing the water level when the water level reaches a predetermined point.
While the aforementioned devices disclose various designs to reduce splashing, no device known to the inventor teaches the benefits of a low profile design capable of preventing splashing and having a means for automatically maintaining the water level using both a secondary reservoir built into the device itself and a remote reservoir. Therefore, what is needed in the art is a pet bowl that is readily accessible to any size animal, has a profile that provides a smooth bowl-access aperture that will not harm the animal if the animal is drinking during rough transportation, that is expressly designed for transporting animals, which is portable, and which has a means for automatically filling the bowl from a remote reservoir.